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Kanye's Flying Saint Pablo Stage Took a Decade to Plan and Was Inspired by Happiness and Ridley Scott

"This take on the future and the way it connects with music, that’s the vibe."

Image via E!

Our boy Kanye is known as a surly fellow, possibly an asshole, possibly the soothsayer of the social media era. His recently launched Saint Pablo tour has him literally on high above the masses atop a glowing platform. What a dick! That thing could fall and hurt someone! But, as it turns out, this giant safety hazard is for the kids (bro). In an interview with E! News, Kanye, wearing some kind of Yamaha-branded "Saint Pablo" hoodie, revealed that the unique Saint Pablo tour setup (which was "ten years" in the making and required eight months of planning from "the world's greatest designers") is not meant to place him above anyone, rather it's to induce a sense of community. "I want people to get into it and have a fun time, have it not be about watching the artist, but people watching their friends and singing along with the lyrics and being able to see themselves and their outfits," says Kanye, always placing fashion first but in a rare example, thinking about the desires of others.

He also says that he channeled many past performers, from Michael Jackson and Bono to Radiohead and Trent Reznor, for his stage presence. Ridley Scott's in that list, too, which makes us hopeful for a Kanye soundtrack collab in that Blade Runner sequel if Scott somehow gets word of this. In quantifying his influence from Electric Light Orchestra (seriously), Kanye says he's inspired by "this take on the future and the way it connects with music, that's the vibe." The craziest part? This isn't even the tour's final form. Much like The Life of Pablo itself, the Saint Pablo tour will change "a little bit" as it goes on. Will he fix it like he did "Wolves" at some point, though? Watch the interview below.

Phil needs to hear those ELO-sampling Kanye beats now. Follow him on Twitter.